FEATURE Organising
n By Hajera Blagg
UNITE – THE BEST IN SHOW
Unite confirms its growing presence at this year’s Royal Welsh Show
Unite was back and bigger than ever at the Royal Welsh Show in July this year – yet again it was the only trade union with a presence at the iconic event.
Throngs of people from all over the UK descended on the village of Builth Wells to experience this unique celebration of both Welsh farming and countryside life.
Unite’s presence at the show was expanded this year with a larger marquee and a visit from the Welsh government’s deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who also serves as cabinet minister for climate change and rural affairs.
Unite political officer Mark ‘Pasty’ Turner hailed the union’s growing presence.
He reported having a number of conversations with people from all walks of life at the Unite marquee during the Show this year.
“We spoke with people from the Farmers’ Alliance, who wanted guidance on how to organise actions and campaign,” Pasty reported.
“We’ve also had people come talk to us not just about union issues, but other issues affecting people in rural Wales, such as default 20mph speed limits, a tourism levy that’s about to go into effect, second home ownership and the cost of living.”
Indeed, Landworker spoke with dozens of the Show’s visitors who stopped at Unite’s marquee – both members and non-members alike.
Unite member Rhiannon, a teaching assistant, said she comes with her family to the Show every year. “We live in a community near Port Talbot, so there’s a lot of anxiety about the closure of the steelworks. Cost of living is a big concern. As a teaching assistant, we’re also facing our own issues – staff shortages are huge.”
Unite member Nicoletta, Rhiannon’s mother, lives outside a village in rural Wales, and she is especially concerned about lack of infrastructure.
“It’s really hard to get around – there aren’t any pavements so if I wanted to walk to the next village, I’d have to use the main road and it’s dangerous,” she explained.
Unite member and ambulance worker Sammy-Jo James also comes to the Royal Welsh Show every year, both as a visitor earlier in the week and later as a paramedic working a shift at the Show itself.
Sammy-Jo said it was especially tough being an ambulance worker in a rural area.
“The delays at hospitals are a major issue – we’re delaying patient care because people are stuck at hospitals,” she said. “It’s a big problem in rural areas where it takes a
Meet the minister – the Unite team with Huw Irranca-Davies 22 uniteLANDWORKER Autumn 2024
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